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Men’s tennis moves into first place in MW

Utah State men’s tennis team knocked off No. 42 New Mexico 4-3 on Sunday in Logan to claim first place in the Mountain West.

Friday, the USU team blanked Air Force 7-0 also at home.

“New Mexico is No. 42 in the country,” said Aggie head coach Clancy Shields before the teams played. “That’s a great opportunity for us in the national scene, but also in the standings for the Mountain West Conference. This match is critical for us, and we’re playing at home.”

Sunday the Aggies celebrated senior day with a win for the teams two seniors, Marcus Fritz and Matt Sweet.

“I’m extremely proud of our guys,” said Utah State assistant coach Andy Magee. “They’re the toughest team I’ve ever seen, and that is the recipe for success in college tennis. It’s not about anything else — it’s about toughness. If we have the toughest team, we’re going to be successful.”

Friday against Air Force every single Utah State player won in straight sets. The closest match was the first singles spot. Dennis Baumgartner beat Grant Taylor 6-1, 7-5.

“I thought we played a very solid match across the board. We were very professional,” Magee said. “Our guys took care of business. They didn’t mess around or stay on the court longer than they had to. I thought they all played to their level today. They didn’t bring their level down, and they didn’t try to overdo anything. Overall, I’m very pleased.”

The match against New Mexico started off with doubles play. Fritz and sophomore Baumgartner won the first doubles match 6-4. New Mexico got a win over senior Sweet and sophomore Karan Salwan 7-5. Sophomore Jack Swindells and freshman Jaime Barajas won 7-5 to earn the doubles point and put the Aggies up 1-0 early.

New Mexico’s James Hignett won the first singles match, 6-1, 6-3, and Bart Van Leijsen took the second match, 7-5, 6-2 to take the 2-1 lead over the Aggies. Salwan had an impressive, 6-3, 6-2, win over the No. 61-ranked player in the country, Samir Iftikhar to tie the match up at 2-2. Baumgartner beat Hayden Sabatka in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, to regain the lead at 3-2.

Fritz lost a tough match in three sets to Mitch McDaniels 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, that would tie the match up once again. After losing the first set, sophomore Sebastian Schneider would come back to win the match, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to secure first place in the MW.

Utah State’s next match is Sunday in Reno, Nevada, where they will face off against the Nevada Wolf Pack.

— joebaraiolo@gmail.com

Twitter: @joefish_2